And now I have finished rereading volume four of The Apothecary Diaries light novels by Natsu Hyuuga.
One thing I kept noticing as I progressed through the latter three books is how well-constructed the arc is; various details that only came up in this volume were set up throughout the previous volumes, all the way back to volume two.
Since the second episode of the new season will go up tomorrow, and I watch two episodes of anime every night to help my brain shut down for the night, I think I'll probably wait and watch the first two episodes of the new season together.
But I can't help thinking how sad it is, how an aromantic icon like Maomao deserves a better ending than to eventually be forced to marry. (I mean, not that Jinshi managed to actually marry her by the end of volume eight, the last one I've read, but he had taken steps that made that fate unavoidable. (Technically, that fate can be viewed as unavoidable from the very start, due to genre conventions, but...)) I may go out looking for fanfic that lets her escape that dire fate. Something where Jinshi gets over his obsession with her, maybe falls for someone else.
Anyway.
Technically, I ought to find a banned or challenged book to read next, since this is Banned Book Week, but...
...I've been having such a bad time of it. I need to read something I already know I love.
Soooo, since 2026 is the novel's ten year anniversary, I've decided to reread Mo Dao Zu Shi next. (And let's face it, that's not so outrageous for Banned Book Week; if there were any schools that had copies if Mo Dao Zu Shi in their libraries, all those hyper-conservative jackasses would absolutely be banning the heck out of it, considering it has a gay couple bringing down a tyrant. Twice.)
Original language: Japanese
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